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This work - to protect public safety and the integrity of the land, buildings and structures on this island off the coast of Weston-super-Mare - is being led by specialist contractor Teignmouth Maritime Services.
In the last two weeks the team has:
- completed the safe removal of around 160kg of asbestos
- started repairing the sea walls. To do this, 10 tonnes of mortar and three tonnes of stone were delivered to the island by boat
- begun preparations for structural work to stabilise the 1888 boathouse
- installed welfare facilities on the island.
So far, there has been:
- three landing craft visits to deliver about 150 tonnes of plant, materials and equipment to the island
- about 40 round trips to transport workers to the island and back to the mainland using ‘sealegs’, an amphibious rigid inflatable boat with wheels.
This phase of work is being funded from an allocation of £4.47m from the UK government, formerly known as the Levelling Up Fund.
Elements of this work are necessary to enable subsequent phases of the project to take place, including restoring the pier itself and re-establishing the RNLI’s lifeboat station on Birnbeck Island.
A planning application for the pier itself was submitted by the RNLI last month and a separate planning application for the creation of a new lifeboat station on the island is due to be submitted soon.
Work is planned to start later this year on the landside buildings to enable them to reopen to the public in 2025.
Find out more about the Birnbeck Pier project on our website or visit the information hub next to the pier.